Talks

Christmas Day Service

Gill leads our Carol Service

What a great Sunday! Abby is doing an amazing job directing not only our wonderful children but also all the adults in participating in this year’s “Instant Nativity”. There is a lot of fun and laughter, and we are also reminded of how Jesus came to live among us.
We also welcome three special guests from Malawi who explain to us how our giving into our Special Christmas offering will make a difference to people in some of the villages in Malawi.

Bob continues our Christmas series “HOME at Christmas”. Jesus came to this world to make his HOME among us.

Can you relate to the feeling of wanting to stay in bed on a cold winter morning and not leave the warmth? We can love God’s presence when we are together, but we can’t stay in that place all the time.
Jesus wants us to go out into the community and share His story and our story with the people around us.

Bob suggests three things we can share with people:

What has God done in the past?
See Psalm 40. 1-4.  As followers of Jesus, we all have a story of what God has done in us and around us.
What would life look like if you didn’t yet know Jesus? Let’s allow that thought to inspire us and motivate us to share the Good News of God with those around us.

What is God doing in us in the present?
If you don’t know what God is doing in the present, ask Him and He will show you. Some of the things He’ll tell you might not be what you want to hear. He’s tackling the things we need to sort out in our lives. He has a plan for each of us to be active in the presence.

What are you hoping God will do in the future?
We want to see communities transformed! And people set free!
We know there is a home to come (Heaven), but there’s also a home here and now that we are called to invite people to come into the fullness of.

May we be encouraged to share with people what God has done, what he’s doing now and what he will do in the future.

On the first Sunday of Advent Matt launches our Christmas Season with a message entitled HOME… at Christmas!
The Gospel writer John explains the incredible news that God came to dwell among His people – what an incredible thought!
The NLT translation puts it like this:  “The Word became human and made his HOME among us.”

Matt talks about “incarnation” – the theological word that simply means “with flesh on” – and explains that this is one of the foundational mysterious miracles that underlines the Christmas story.  He mentioned Jack Groblewski’s Christmas book and shared this quote from it:
“There is a doctrine underlying Christmas, and it is foundational to everything that Christianity stands upon.  The name of that doctrine is “Incarnation”, the mystery through which God became man and yet remains both God and man!”

Matt then encourages us to take time during the season to stop to WONDER – both in the sense of “being curious” and also in “amazement” of what happened during the first Christmas.  “Jesus left the splendour of His Heavenly HOME so that He could make His HOME with us on earth.”  WOW!

God made His home among us, in Jesus over 2000 years ago – but He still wants to make His HOME in us today too!  (THEME of the YEAR!)

We pray for God’s Hope to fill us and also that we carry His Hope to those around us.

Gill continues our descent down the mountain to the very bottom - MISSION.
So much gold in this message.  If you missed it, grab a cuppa and click the link below and catch hold of the MISSION we are called to, which Paul encourages us through the words in Romans 15 and 16.  Gill reads from The Message paraphrase which starts like this…..

Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”

Gill refers to the culture of “one anothering” - serving each other, preferring one another. Being more like Jesus.  Mark 12:30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.

Gill challenges us on being a Church for those OUTSIDE of the Church.  How do we make our differences smaller?  Gill has an image of a “Glitter Ball” you see on a dance floor - how we represent all of the tiny mirrors which together reflect LIGHT which spreads out - WE SHINE OUTWARDS! Bringing God’s Kingdom near to those OUTSIDE!

Gill continues our descent down the mountain as she unpicked the clues that Romans chapters 13 and 14 give us about how to live in COMMUNITY.
The descent can be the most dangerous part of a mountain excursion as it is very easy to trip up. Climbing up is optional, but coming down is mandatory.

Paul who lived in a very different world to ours, (a cruel world under Nero) addressed the Roman church with incredibly wise and challenging words: “The authorities have been established by God. Just love and keep loving, Jesus is coming.”

There’s always a cost to radical Kingdom living. Here in the UK we are allowed to speak out against suffering, the cost to do that is relatively small compared to when Jesus went to the cross and hung on it willingly despite His power to change this at every given moment: That was the most powerful outliving of love ever!

Here, Paul is addressing Messianic Jews and converted gentiles who each had their ways. The same is true today in our Ashwood Church: We are a very diverse, glorious church and we all have our ways. We need to accept diversity to enhance our unity. Be who you are and let other people be who they are so we can all shine our individual colours together.

As described in the last chapter of Andrew Ollerton’s book: Some things like the good news of Jesus being the way and to accept Him as our saviour as the way to our salvation we should hold tightly: these are the things that hold us together.

Other things like whether we should wear hats or not, have loud or quiet worship etc. we should hold lightly: these are things that don’t really matter.

Gill’s message earlier in the year about “one-anothering” fits perfectly with today’s message. If we learn to “one-another” well, we can shine our light.

Bob continues our descent down the mountain as he explores all that Romans chapter 13 had to share about our DEVOTION.
Over the last 12 chapters, the Apostle Paul helpfully shared with the church in Rome all about God’s goodness, sovereignty, mercy and forgiveness, and then he hits the church on the head all of a sudden with a “Therefore”!
Now comes the time when we have to do something about all the information that has gone before, and we are issued with a much needed “therefore”, what are you going to do about it?
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God”
There were three key points that Bob helped us to explore
That a changed mind results in a changed life – That we need to be in the middle of God’s will, stand against the pressures of the world, and live in the light of His mercy.
That we are servants in God’s family – Each of us have gifts that we should use freely to serve and honour others.
That we are called to be servants towards our enemies – Living radical lives of hospitality, humility and forgiveness, living lives that show the difference that Jesus makes, but not being a doormat!
All in all, Bob reminded us that relationship with God is key to all of this, and it is through our love and devotion to Him that we are able to be transformed.
Therefore we need to renew our minds, serve one another and overcome evil with good.

Zoe talks to us about the “MYSTERY” we find in Romans chapters 9-11.
We should never expect to understand everything! – God is loving, kind, all-knowing but He is also mysterious!  There will always be an element of Mystery.

We need to remember that when we stand on a mountain and are surrounded with clouds: The view is still there whether we can see it or not. The same is true with God: He is still the same praise-worthy God, whether we understand everything or not.

On these 3 chapters, Tom Wright said: “There are more problems in Romans Chapter 9, 10 and 11 than a hedgehog has prickles!!”.

The Apostle Paul wrote about the confusion and controversy in Rome in order to create unity. (Zoe explains it really well – please listen again!)

Zoe summarises her talk with the following points:

-God loves us, even when we don’t reciprocate or choose not to follow him

-If we feel forgotten, God does not forget us

-God calls us to love our family, friends, neighbours and be passionate about seeing them know Him too

-It’s God grace that saves us

-We are all chosen for purpose

-We can all step outside of God’s purposes and mess up

With the new shoots grafted into an old olive tree, Paul paints a beautiful picture: Both the gentiles (us) and the messianic Jews (Jews believing in Jesus) are grafted onto the old olive tree of the people of Israel to bring it back to life.

Matt picks up “SEASON 2” of our Romans series that we started before the Summer.  We continued with the Mountain Analogy and Matt is excited to speak from Romans Chapter 8 “The Summit of Hope!”
Andrew Ollerton says: “I believe our fragile, anxious culture needs Romans Chapter 8 more than ever!”
Why? Because Romans 8 gives us a breathtaking view of our lives:

1) There is no condemnation! “We’re not condemned under the penalty of sin and we are also no longer ruled by the power of sin.”

2) We’re adopted as children and heirs! “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory!”

3) We have a future hope! “We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.”

“We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them!”

Nothing can separate us from the love of God and this amazing hope!